Image forming apparatus, document reading device and conveyance method

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus comprises a tray, a conveyor, a detector and a movement mechanism. The tray accommodates at least one document. The conveyor conveys the document placed on the tray. The detector detects that the document is placed on the tray. The movement mechanism moves the tray from a first position to a second position closer to the conveyor than the first position based on the detection that the document is placed on the tray, and after moving the tray from the first position to the second position, moves the tray to the first position based on a setting of a mixed stacking mode in which mixing of the documents with different sizes on the tray is permitted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/919,633 filed Mar. 13, 2018, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference, and which was granted as U.S. Pat. No.10,571,846 on Feb. 25, 2020.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image formingapparatus, a document reading device and a conveyance method.

BACKGROUND

ADF (Auto Document Feeder) devices permitting mixing of documents withdifferent sizes are widespread. Furthermore, ADF devices loaded with adocument tray vertically movable are widespread as well. This is becausethe number of documents that can be placed on document tray isincreasing.

Such ADF devices enable the document tray to move to a position of adocument feed roller after a predetermined time has elapsed since adocument on the document tray is detected, thereby reducing a waitingtime of a user.

However, it is difficult for the user to correctly set the documentswith different sizes on the document tray within the above-mentionedpredetermined time. Furthermore, even if the user places the documentswith different sizes on the document tray at once while aligning them,there is a possibility that the documents shift on the document tray andbecome skewed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram exemplifying an image forming apparatusaccording to at least one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a top view exemplifying the image forming apparatus accordingto at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram exemplifying a control system of the imageforming apparatus according to at least one embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart exemplifying movement operations of a documenttray according to at least one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to at least one embodiment, an image forming apparatuscomprises a tray, a conveyance section, a detection section and amovement mechanism. The tray accommodates at least one document. Theconveyance section conveys the document placed on the tray. Thedetection section detects that the document is placed on the tray. Themovement mechanism moves the tray from a first position to a secondposition closer to the conveyance section than the first position basedon the detection that the document is placed on the tray, and aftermoving the tray from the first position to the second position, movesthe tray to the first position based on a setting of a mixed stackingmode in which mixing of the documents with different sizes on the trayis permitted.

Hereinafter, at least one embodiment is described with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

The configuration of an image forming apparatus according to at leastone embodiment is described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram exemplifying an image forming apparatus 1.The image forming apparatus 1 executes various processes such as imageformation while conveying an image receiving medium. The image formingapparatus 1 is, for example, a MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral).

The image forming apparatus 1 comprises a housing 11, a document table12, a scanner section 13, an ADF device 14, a sheet feed cassette 15, asheet discharge tray 16, an image forming section (image former) 17 anda conveyance section (conveyor) 18.

The housing 11 is a main body for holding the document table 12, thescanner section 13, the ADF device 14, the sheet feed cassette 15, thesheet discharge tray 16, the image forming section 17 and the conveyancesection 18.

The document is placed on the document table 12. The document table 12includes a glass plate 121. The document is placed on the glass plate121.

The scanner section 13 acquires image data from the document. Thescanner section 13 is arranged inside the document table 12. The scannersection 13 includes an image sensor, an optical element, a lightingdevice, and the like, which are not shown.

The image sensor is an image capturing element in which pixels forconverting light to an electrical signal (image signal) are arrangedlinearly. The image sensor is made up by, for example, a CCD (ChargeCoupled Device), CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), oranother image capturing element.

The optical element causes light from a predetermined reading range tobe imaged on pixels of the image sensor. The reading range of theoptical element is a line-shaped region on the glass plate 121. Theoptical element images light reflected by the document placed on theglass plate 121 and transmitting through the glass plate 121 on thepixels of the image sensor.

The lighting device illuminates the document on the glass plate 121 withthe light. The lighting device includes a light source and a light guidefor illuminating the document with the light from the light source. Thelighting device illuminates an area containing the reading range of theoptical element by the light guide with the light emitted from the lightsource.

The scanner section 13 is driven by a driving mechanism (not shown) in asub-scanning direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction (mainscanning direction) of the pixels of the image sensor. The scannersection 13 is driven in the sub-scanning direction and acquires imagedata of the entire document placed on the glass plate 121 by acquiringan image of each line successively by the image sensor.

The ADF device 14 continuously conveys the documents one by one to aposition opposite to the position of the scanner section 13 on the glassplate 121. The ADF device 14 is provided on the document table 12 in anopenable manner. The ADF device 14 is an example of a document readingdevice.

The ADF device 14 includes a document tray 141, a sensor 142, a documentfeed roller 143, a plurality of conveyance rollers 144, a documentdischarge tray 145 and a movement mechanism 146.

The document tray 141 is used for placing the document to be picked upto the ADF device 14. The document tray 141 accommodates the document.The document tray 141 is movable between a first position and a secondposition. The first position is a home position. The document tray 141at the first position is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1. The secondposition is a position where the document feed roller 143 describedlater can pick up the documents placed on the document tray 141 one byone to the ADF device 14. Therefore, the second position is closer tothe document feed roller 143 than the first position. The secondposition is, for example, above the first position. The document tray141 at the second position is indicated by a chain line in FIG. 1.

In the document tray 141, a part including a position facing thedocument feed roller 143 in the document tray 141 is movable.Alternatively, the document tray 141 may be configured such that theentire document tray 141 is movable.

The sensor 142 is a detector that detects that the document is placed ata predetermined position of the document tray 141. The sensor 142outputs information indicating the detection of the document based onthe detection that the document is placed on the document tray 141. Thesensor 142 is, for example, an optical sensor, but is not limitedthereto.

The document feed roller 143 rotates by an operation of a motor (notshown) and conveys the document placed on the document tray 141. As aresult, the document feed roller 143 picks up the documents one by oneto the ADF device 14. The document feed roller 143 is located, forexample, above the document tray 141. If the document tray 141 is at thefirst position, the document feed roller 143 does not contact with thedocument placed on the document tray 141. On the other hand, if thedocument tray 141 is at the second position, the document feed roller143 contacts with the document placed on the document tray 141. Thedocument feed roller 143 is an example of a conveyance section (aconveyor).

The plurality of conveyance rollers 144 conveys the documents one by oneto a position opposite to the position of the scanner section 13 on thesurface of the glass plate 121 and discharges them to the documentdischarge tray 145. As a result, the scanner section 13 can acquire theimage data of the entire document by continuously acquiring an image ofeach line from the document conveyed by the ADF device 14.

The document discharge tray 145 is a table to which the documentconveyed by the plurality of conveyance rollers 144 in the ADF device 14is discharged.

The movement mechanism 146 moves the document tray 141 between the firstposition and the second position. The movement mechanism 146 is composedof at least one motor, for example.

The sheet feed cassette 15 accommodates a printing medium. The sheetfeed cassette 15 is capable of supplying the printing medium from theoutside of the housing 11. The sheet feed cassette 15 is capable ofbeing drawn out from the housing 11.

The sheet discharge tray 16 supports the printing medium discharged fromthe image forming apparatus 1.

The image forming section 17 forms an image on the printing medium. Theimage forming section 17 includes a drum 171, an exposure device 172, adeveloping device 173, a transfer belt 174, a pair of transfer rollers175, a pair of fixing rollers 176 and a thermal fixing load 177. Thedrum 171, the exposure device 172 and the developing device 173 areprovided for each different color such as cyan, magenta, yellow andblack, for example.

The drum 171 is a photoconductive drum formed into a cylindrical shape.The drum 171 is provided in contact with the transfer belt 174. Thesurface of the drum 171 is uniformly charged by an electrostatic charger(not shown). The drum 171 is rotated at a constant speed by a drivingmechanism (not shown).

The exposure device 172 emits light having a wavelength capable offorming a latent image on the charged drum 171 in response to anelectric signal (image signal) of print data. Thereby, the exposuredevice 172 forms an electrostatic latent image on the charged drum 171.

The developing device 173 attaches toner (developer) to theelectrostatic latent image formed on the drum 171. As a result, thedeveloping device 173 forms an image of toner (toner image) on thesurface of the drum 171.

The transfer belt 174 receives the toner image formed on the surface ofthe drum 171 and transfers it onto the printing medium. The transferbelt 174 moves by rotation of a roller (not shown). The transfer belt174 receives the toner image formed on the drum 171 at a position incontact with the drum 171 and conveys the received toner image to thepair of transfer rollers 175.

The pair of transfer rollers 175 sandwiches the transfer belt 174 andthe printing medium. The pair of transfer rollers 175 transfers thetoner image on the transfer belt 174 onto the printing medium.

The pair of fixing rollers 176 sandwiches the printing medium. The pairof fixing rollers 176 is heated by the thermal fixing load 177 describedlater. The pair of fixing rollers 176 fixes the toner image formed onthe printing medium by applying pressure to the sandwiched printingmedium in a heated state. As a result, the pair of fixing rollers 176forms an image on the printing medium by fixing the toner image on theprinting medium.

The thermal fixing load 177 is a heater (heating element) that heats thepair of fixing rollers 176. The thermal fixing load 177 is provided inthe vicinity of the pair of fixing rollers 176. The thermal fixing load177 is made of, for example, a metal that generates heat byelectromagnetic waves.

The conveyance section 18 conveys the printing medium within the imageforming apparatus 1. The conveyance section 18 includes a pickup roller181, a sheet feed conveyance path 182, a sheet discharge conveyance path183, and an inversion conveyance path 184.

The pickup roller 181 picks up the printing medium accommodated in thesheet feed cassette 15 to the sheet feed conveyance path 182 describedlater. The pickup roller 181 rotates according to the operation of amotor.

The sheet feed conveyance path 182 is used for conveying the printingmedium picked up from the sheet feed cassette 15 by the pickup roller181 to the image forming section 17. The sheet feed conveyance path 182is composed of a plurality of guides and a plurality of rollers. Theplurality of rollers forming the sheet feed conveyance path 182 rotatesby the operation of the motor.

The sheet discharge conveyance path 183 is used for discharging theprinting medium on which an image is formed by the image forming section17 from the housing 11. The printing medium is discharged to the sheetdischarge tray 16 through the sheet discharge conveyance path 183. Thesheet discharge conveyance path 183 is composed of a plurality of guidesand a plurality of rollers. The plurality of rollers forming the sheetdischarge conveyance path 183 rotates by the operation of a motor.

The inversion conveyance path 184 is used to supply the printing mediumagain to the image forming section 17 in a state in which the front andrear sides and the front and back surfaces of the printing medium onwhich the image is formed by the image forming section 17 are inverted.The inversion conveyance path 184 is composed of a plurality of guidesand a plurality of rollers. The plurality of rollers making up theinversion conveyance path 184 rotates by the operation of a motor.

FIG. 2 is a top view exemplifying the image forming apparatus 1. Theimage forming apparatus 1 further includes a control panel 19. Thecontrol panel 19 is an input device for receiving an operation by auser. The control panel 19 outputs information indicating the operationby the user based on the operation by the user.

The control panel 19 includes a plurality of buttons 191. The pluralityof buttons 191 is configured in such a manner that the user can pressthem. The plurality of buttons 191 includes a “document reading start”button and a “mixed stacking mode” button.

The “document reading start” button is described. The “document readingstart” button is used for inputting the start of reading the documentplaced on the document tray 141. By pressing the “document readingstart” button, the ADF device 14 conveys the document placed on thedocument tray 141 with the document feed roller 143 and starts pickingup the documents one by one.

A “mixed stacking mode” button is described. The “mixed stacking mode”button is used for setting a mode in which mixing of the documents withdifferent sizes on the document tray 141 is permitted. The mixedstacking mode includes a first mixed stacking mode and a second mixedstacking mode described below. By pressing the “mixed stacking mode”button, the image forming apparatus 1 is set so as to permit either oneof the first mixed stacking mode and the second mixed stacking mode.

The first mixed stacking mode is a mode in which the mixing of documentswith different sizes in a first direction A of the document tray 141 ispermitted. As shown in FIG. 2, the first direction A is orthogonal to aconveyance direction of the document placed on the document tray 141.For the first mixed stacking mode, a case in which a document of A4 sizeand a document of A3 size are placed on the document tray 141 isprovided as an example. The document of A4 size and the document of A3size are placed at predetermined positions of the document tray 141 withone end of each document aligned. The document of A4 size is placed onthe document tray 141 in such a manner that short sides are arrangedalong the first direction A and long sides are arranged along a seconddirection B. The second direction B corresponds to the conveyancedirection of the document placed on the document tray 141, as shown inFIG. 2. The document of A3 size is placed on the document tray 141 insuch a manner that short sides are arranged along the first direction Aand long sides are arranged along the second direction B. In thismanner, the document of A4 size and the document of A3 size placed onthe document tray 141 are different in the size in the first direction Aof the document tray 141.

The second mixed stacking mode is a mode in which the mixing of thedocuments with different sizes in the second direction B of the documenttray 141 is permitted. For the second mixed stacking mode, a case inwhich the document of A4 size and the document of A3 size are placed onthe document tray 141 is provided as an example. The document of A4 sizeand the document of A3 size are placed at predetermined positions of thedocument tray 141 with one end of each document aligned. The document ofA4 size is placed on the document tray 141 in such a manner that thelong sides are arranged along the first direction A and the short sidesare arranged along the second direction B. The document of A3 size isplaced on the document tray 141 in such a manner that the short sidesare arranged along the first direction A and the long sides are arrangedalong the second direction B. In this manner, the document of A4 sizeand the document of A3 size placed on the document tray 141 aredifferent in the size in the second direction B of the document tray141.

The input operation of the document reading start and a settingoperation of the mixed stacking mode may be realized by an operation ona touch panel by the user instead of the operation of the plurality ofbuttons 191 described above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram exemplifying a control system of the imageforming apparatus 1. In addition to the scanner section 13, the ADFdevice 14, the image forming section 17, the conveyance section 18 andthe control panel 19 described above, the image forming apparatus 1further includes the following components. The image forming apparatus 1includes a processor 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (RandomAccess Memory) 103, and a storage device 104.

The processor 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Theprocessor 101 executes various processes by executing a program storedin the ROM 102 or the storage device 104. The processor 101 controls theoperations of the scanner section 13, the ADF device 14, the imageforming section 17 and the conveyance section 18. The processor 101acquires information indicating the operation by the user from thecontrol panel 19. The processor 101 executes a processing according tothe operation by the user.

The ROM 102 stores programs executed by the processor 101, control data,and the like. The RAM 103 is a working memory.

The storage device 104 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory. The storagedevice 104 is, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (HardDisk Drive), or the like. The storage device 104 stores programsexecuted by the processor 101, control data, and the like. Further, thestorage device 104 stores data collected in various processing by theprocessor 101.

Next, the movement operations of the document tray 141 in the ADF device14 are described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart exemplifying the movement operations of thedocument tray 141. Here, it is assumed that no document is placed on thedocument tray 141. Therefore, the document tray 141 is located at thefirst position.

The processor 101 determines whether or not the mixed stacking mode isset (Act 101). In Act 101, the processor 101 determines that the mixedstacking mode is set based on the information indicating that the “mixedstacking mode” button is pressed from the control panel 19. If the mixedstacking mode is not set (No in Act 101), the processor 101 determineswhether or not the document is detected by the sensor 142 (Act 102). InAct 102, the processor 101 determines that the document is detected bythe sensor 142 based on the information indicating the detection of thedocument from the sensor 142. As a result, the processor 101 determinesthat the document is placed on the document tray 141.

If the document is not detected by the sensor 142 (No in Act 102), theprocessor 101 proceeds to the processing in Act 101 described above.

If the document is detected by the sensor 142 (Yes in Act 102), theprocessor 101 stands by until a predetermined time elapses (Act 103). InAct 103, the processor 101 stands by until the predetermined timeelapses since the document is detected by the sensor 142. In otherwords, the document tray 141 is located at the first position. Thepredetermined time can be arbitrarily set.

After the predetermined time elapses, the processor 101 moves thedocument tray 141 from the first position to the second position (Act104). In Act 104, the processor 101 moves the document tray 141 from thefirst position to the second position according to the operation of themovement mechanism 146 by operating the movement mechanism 146.

The processor 101 determines whether or not the document reading startis input (Act 105). In Act 105, the processor 101 determines that thedocument reading start is input based on the information indicating thatthe “document reading start” button is pressed from the control panel19. If the document reading start is input (Yes in Act 105), theprocessor 101 determines whether or not the document tray 141 is locatedat the second position (Act 106). If the document tray 141 is located atthe second position (Yes in Act 106), the processor 101 enables thedocument feed roller 143 to convey the document placed on the documenttray 141 (Act 108). As a result, the processor 101 can perform controlto pick up the documents placed on the document tray 141 one by one tothe ADF device 14.

If the document tray 141 is not located at the second position (No inAct 106), the processor 101 moves the document tray 141 to the secondposition (Act 107). In Act 107, the processor 101 moves the documenttray 141 to the second position according to the operation of themovement mechanism 146 by operating the movement mechanism 146. Aftercompleting the movement of the document tray 141 to the second position,the processor 101 enables the document feed roller 143 to convey thedocument placed on the document tray 141 (Act 108). As a result, theprocessor 101 can perform control to pick up the documents placed on thedocument tray 141 one by one to the ADF device 14.

Returning to Act 105, if the reading start is not input (No in Act 105),the processor 101 determines whether or not the mixed stacking mode isset (Act 109). In Act 109, the processor 101 carries out the processingin the same way as Act 101. If the mixed stacking mode is not set (No inAct 109), the processor 101 proceeds to the processing in Act 105described above.

If the mixed stacking mode is set (Yes in Act 109), the processor 101moves the document tray 141 to the first position (Act 110). In Act 110,the processor 101 operates the movement mechanism 146 to move thedocument tray 141 to the first position according to the operation ofthe movement mechanism 146. If the document tray 141 is located at thesecond position by the processing in Act 104, the processor 101 movesthe document tray 141 from the second position to the first position. Onthe other hand, if the document tray 141 is moving from the firstposition to the second position by the processing in Act 104, theprocessor 101 carries out the processing as follows. The processor 101stops moving the document tray 141 from the first position to the secondposition, and moves the document tray 141 to the first position.

The processor 101 moves the document tray 141 to the first position inAct 110 and then proceeds to the processing in Act 105 described above.The processor 101 keeps the document tray at the first position untilthe document reading start is input after the document tray 141 is movedto the first position based on the setting of the mixed stacking mode.

Returning to Act 101, if the mixed stacking mode is set (Yes in Act101), the processor 101 determines whether or not the document isdetected by the sensor 142 (Act 111). The processor 101 carries out theprocessing in the same way as in Act 102.

Referring to the processing by the processor 101 described above, themovement mechanism 146 moves the document tray 141 as follows.

First, a case in which the user places at least one document on thedocument tray 141 and then sets the mixed stacking mode is described.The processing from Act 102 to Act 104 is referred to. The movementmechanism 146 moves the document tray from the first position to thesecond position based on the detection that the document is placed onthe document tray 141. The processing in Act 104, Act 105, Act 109, andAct 110 is referred to in order. The movement mechanism 146 moves thedocument tray 141 to the first position based on the setting of themixed stacking mode after moving the document tray 141 from the firstposition to the second position. The processing in Act 110 and Act 105is referred to in order. The movement mechanism 146 keeps the documenttray at the first position until the document reading start is inputafter moving the document tray 141 to the first position based on thesetting of the mixed stacking mode. The processing in Act 105, 106, and107 is referred to in order. The movement mechanism 146 moves thedocument tray 141 from the first position to the second position basedon the input of the document reading start. The processing in Act 107and 108 is referred to in order. The movement mechanism 146 conveys thedocument placed on the document tray 141 with the document feed roller143 after the movement of the document tray 141 from the first positionto the second position is completed.

Next, a case in which the mixed stacking mode is set before the userplaces the document on the document tray 141 is described. Theprocessing in Act 101, 111, and 105 is referred to in order. Themovement mechanism 146 keeps the document tray 141 at the first positionuntil the document reading start is input after the mixed stacking modeis set. The processing in Act 105, 106, and 107 is referred to in order.The movement mechanism 146 moves the document tray 141 from the firstposition to the second position based on the input of the documentreading start.

According to at least one embodiment, the document tray 141 is moved tothe first position based on the setting of the mixed stacking mode evenafter moved from the first position to the second position. This widensthe space for placing the document on the document tray 141. Therefore,even if the user places the documents with different sizes on thedocument tray 141, the documents with different sizes can be correctlyplaced on the document tray 141. The placement property of the documentis improved. Here, the placement property of the document refers toreducing unintended skew of the document without making the user panicand without necessitating corrective action or additional manipulationby the user.

Further, the document tray 141 is maintained at the first position untilthe document reading start is input after moved to the first positionbased on the setting of the mixed stacking mode. In this manner, theuser can place the documents with different sizes correctly on thedocument tray 141 without panic and without necessitating correctiveaction or additional manipulation by the user.

Furthermore, the document tray 141 is maintained at the first positionif the user sets the mixed stacking mode no matter when the user placesthe document on the document tray 141. As a result, waiting time (1stcopy time) of a user at the time of placing the documents with the samesize on the document tray 141 is reduced. In addition, placementproperty at the time of placing the documents with different sizes onthe document tray 141 is improved.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of invention. Indeed, the novel apparatus and methods describedherein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the apparatus andmethods described herein may be made without departing from the spiritof the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents areintended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within thescope and spirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a trayconfigured to accommodate a document; a conveyor configured to conveythe document placed on the tray; a detector configured to detect thatthe document is placed on the tray; a mover configured to move the trayfrom a first position to a second position closer to the conveyor thanthe first position based on a detection that the document is placed onthe tray; and a processor configured to control the mover to maintainthe tray at the first position upon determining a selection of a mixedstacking mode in which mixing of documents with different sizes on thetray is permitted.
 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the mover is configured to maintain the tray at the firstposition until the processor receives an input to begin documentreading.
 3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to, after determining that the mixed stackingmode is selected, determine whether the detector has detected a presenceof the document.
 4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to control the mover to widen an available spaceto accommodate the document after the document tray has been moved fromthe first position to the second position.
 5. The image formingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause themover to maintain the document tray at the first position after a userselects the mixed stacking mode, regardless of when the user places thedocument on the document tray.
 6. The image forming apparatus of claim1, wherein in the mixed stacking mode, a first document having a firstsize and a second document having a second size are oriented such that ashorter side of each of the first and second documents is aligned alonga first direction of the document tray, or a longer side of the firstdocument and a shorter side of the second document are aligned along thefirst direction of the document tray.
 7. A document reading device,comprising: a tray configured to accommodate a document; a conveyorconfigured to convey the document placed on the tray; a detectorconfigured to detect that the document is placed on the tray; a moverconfigured to move the tray from a first position to a second positionbased on a detection that the document is placed on the tray, and aprocessor configured to control the mover to maintain the tray at thefirst position upon determining a selection of a mixed stacking mode inwhich mixing of documents with different sizes on the tray is permitted.8. The document reading device according to claim 7, wherein the moveris configured to maintain the tray at the first position until documentreading is started, the first position being farther from the conveyorthan the second position.
 9. The document reading device according toclaim 7, wherein the processor is configured to, after determining thatthe mixed stacking mode is selected, determine whether the detector hasdetected a presence of the document.
 10. The document reading deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to control themover to widen an available space to accommodate the document after thedocument tray has been moved from the first position to the secondposition.
 11. The document reading device according to claim 7, whereinthe processor is configured to cause the mover to maintain the documenttray at the first position after a user selects the mixed stacking mode,regardless of when the user places the document on the document tray.12. The document reading device according to claim 7, wherein in themixed stacking mode, a first document having a first size and a seconddocument having a second size are oriented such that a shorter side ofeach of the first and second documents is aligned along a firstdirection of the document tray, or a longer side of the first documentand a shorter side of the second document are aligned along the firstdirection of the document tray.
 13. A conveyance method, including:moving a tray from a first position to a second position closer to aconveyor than the first position based on detection that a document isplaced on the tray; after moving the tray from the first position to thesecond position, moving the tray to the first position based on aselection of a mixed stacking mode in which mixing documents withdifferent sizes on the tray is permitted; moving the tray from the firstposition to the second position based on an input to start documentreading; and maintaining the tray at the first position upon determininga selection of a mixed stacking mode in which mixing of documents withdifferent sizes on the tray is permitted.
 14. The method according toclaim 13, further comprising: maintaining the tray at the first positionuntil receiving the input to start the document reading.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 13, further comprising: after determining that themixed stacking mode is selected, determining whether a detector hasdetected a presence of the document.
 16. The method according to claim13, further comprising: widening an available space to accommodate thedocument after a previous movement of the document tray from the firstposition to the second position.
 17. The method according to claim 13,further comprising: maintaining the document tray at the first positionafter a user selects the mixed stacking mode, regardless of when theuser places the document on the document tray.
 18. The method accordingto claim 13, wherein in the mixed stacking mode, a first document havinga first size and a second document having a second size are orientedsuch that a shorter side of each of the first and second documents isaligned along a first direction of the document tray, or a longer sideof the first document and a shorter side of the second document arealigned along the first direction of the document tray.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to aconveyance direction of the documents.
 20. The method according to claim18, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction.